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Graham Pritchard
Graham Pritchard is the Space Commissioner for the Department of Mysteries. A former member of the Third London Flying Corps, Pritchard has chosen to put his knowledge to use for the Unspeakables. In his spare time he works ceaselessly in an effort to shag more women than any other man on the planet. Hugh Hefner is his arch nemesis. Pritch has recently turned in his revolving door for a collar and leash, choosing the life of kept puppy dog over his former career as the nation's easy lay. __TOC__ Graham Uther Pritchard Nicknames/Aliases: Pritchard, Pritch - Graham rarely uses his first name, even with friends. His family calls him Scout but that's not a nickname he'd own in front of anyone else. The Regulators affectionately refer to him as Prickard, a trend started by Charlie Weasley. Occupation: Commissioner of Space for the Unspeakables. Formerly a member of the wartime Wizarding Air Force, 3rd London Flying Corps (motto: "Per Ardua ad Astra" - Through Struggles to the Stars"). Home: Family home is in the wizarding village of Appuldurcombe, Isle of Wight. Graham, however, currently lives in a postage-stamp-sized flat in Billiter Alley, wizarding London. Finances: Middle-class but rarely thinks about it. Household: Graham and his cat, Pester, are the only occupants of his London flat. Family Mother: Leda Cauldwell Pritchard Father: Tristram Pritchard Siblings: Older brother, Roland, 29. Other family: Is a distant cousin to Owen Cauldwell. Relationships with each: Graham truly loves and supports his family. The feeling is mutual. The most difficult familial relationship that Graham has is with his older brother. Roland is an alcoholic who slid in it during the war and as such it is often difficult for Graham to deal with. External Appearance: 5'11", wiry build and somewhat bony, particularly around the wrists. Hair is about the color of rust- some consider it red, other light brown or dark blond but it soaks up sunlight, typically turning redder and darker in the winter months and bleaching out in the sunlight. His eyes are blue but typically hidden behind the glasses that he continually wears, bad sight a result of head injuries. On bright days, he always swaps the glasses for shades. His nose has been broken and still shows the signs of bad healing with a slight crook to it. Graham is attractive but not overwhelmingly so. Most of his appeal is in his confident exterior. Graham still feels most comfortable in the RWAF uniform and his clothing choices still reflect this. He tends to wear greys and blues with heavy pairs of boots, t-shirts and fitted trousers. His most prized possession is an old flight jacket given to him by an old muggle he met during the war. Although it's quite a bit too large for him, he wears it regardless. The two things he's consistently not without, however, are his glasses and his wristwatch, both small items of which he is quite fond and considers necessary to his existence. First Impression: People generally think of Graham either as extremely confident or downright cocky when they first notice him. Internal Political Views: Graham isn't involved in much beyond his job and his interests. He doesn't intend to become politically involved although he takes a voyeristic interest in being politically aware. His main concerns politically are towards things like the treatment of war criminals. Graham is still bitter about the war and firmly believes that people like Malfoy did not get what they justly deserved at its conclusion. He also believes that muggle and wizarding worlds should remain divided - one of his biggest criticisms of the Regulators are that they are too "muggle-friendly." This isn't to say that he is a muggle hater but he does believe that there is a place for them and it is not among wizardkind. Quirks/Habits: Loved the Arthurian stories growing up- his favorite character was Mordred. Will often head for open space when feeling threatened. At the Ministry, he often heads for the cafeteria because of its tall ceilings. Hates interrogations because he often feels that he could easily cross the line and abuse his power (this is something, however, that he keeps VERY secret). His broom during the war was called the "Cormorant" and was painted black. Keeps the honors received during his military service in the bottom drawer of his dresser and doesn't show them to people. Loves "aeroplanes" and has wildly inaccurate sketches of them all over the walls of his flat. Loves the city and everything about it. Wields terms of respect like a club. Extremely polite to people he despises. Never without a cup of coffee or a cigarette in his hand, except perhaps at a crime scene, when he has BOTH. He likes laws, even though he isn't the best about following them. Strengths: Easily amused. Strong knowledge of muggle world. Adaptive. Doesn't easily show anger or distress. Cheerful (since I suppose this has to be a strength). Pragmatic, intelligent, well-read (wizarding literature- extremely erratic on the rest of it), quick thinker. Weaknesses: Cheerful, particularly in the morning (to me, this is a SERIOUS character flaw), sadistic, dogged to the point of occasional obsession, resolute smoker, hates birds, despises stereotypical romance and "trite shows of sentimentality", holds a grudge, slightly paranoid, insomniac, will not eat unless absolutely necessary (this is anorexic behavior), has a reputation for being a slag. Boggart: Generally a representation of anarchy Patronus: a Hare Mirror of Erised: Himself in the open sky on Cormorant. Amortentia Potion: lavender, grass in summer, salt Fears and Philias: Of all things, what Graham fears most is a breakdown of order. With that, he also fears political instability. He remembers the war well and to him, the best thing that it accomplished was returning the world to a natural order of things. While he fought on the Light side during the war, some of his views were close to those espoused by the Dark. Graham was truly fighting to maintain the status quo - to see it swing too far on either side is something that frightens him. Graham is also extremely claustrophobic and an acrophile. Hobbies/Interests: * Plays street music similar to Stomp with a group of ex-WAF flyers. * Likes to build things, particularly small things. * Draws vastly inaccurate muggle flying machines. * Drinks, probably a bit more than he should. * Reading, particularly wizarding history. Graham practically breathes history. * Touring London. Graham loves the city and everything about it and since he rarely sleeps, can often be found wandering it at inappropriate hours. * Playing with his cat, Pester. Favorite Belongings: * His old Muggle wristwatch, given to him by a Flyer during the war. * His glasses * His broom * His cat, Pester (if one can consider a cat a belonging) Favorite Places: * An open sky * The old theatres in Blister Alley * Back alleys with lots of garbage cans * Cornwall * Appuldurcombe History Graham was born the second son to two Slytherin alumni who had not succumbed to the pressures of their peers during the first war with Voldemort but instead, remained outside the conflict. His mother, Leda, was muggleborn and always extremely conscious of the fact. If anything, Leda swung towards the conservative side of the spectrum in an attempt to shield her own impurity of lineage in comparison to the long family tree of the Pritchards. The Pritchard family, however, was never high-ranking but rather, had a history typified of poverty and humble nature. As a result, Graham grew up hearing little talk of many of the principals of the first war with Voldemort. While the names of the Potters and Malfoys were mentioned, it wasn't something that the Pritchards much cared about. Graham was more interested in his brother's stories and in climbing trees than in thinking about anything like politics. His one true dream was to go to Hogwarts, get sorted into Slytherin and play Quidditch so that he could become a famous Seeker. His childhood was so blissfully happy as to be abnormal and he grew up confident and secure, spoiled by parents and brother alike. Upon his arrival at Hogwarts, Graham was sorted into Slytherin house without question. However, he entered a house dominated by the interests of pureblooded children of Death Eaters and he quickly grew adept at managing to juggle both his family's pro-Ministry beliefs and the pressures of the other students by feigning apathy. Always an avid reader to begin with, he often deflected the questions of others by hiding behind a history text or provoking a discussion so esoteric or philosophical that it would bore the listener. He became a master of talking in circles during those years, a skill that would prove useful in the years after the war. The political games that the other students were involved in resulted in his remaining off the Quidditch pitch. He simply didn't trust the rest of the team not to make an attempt at injuring him while he was on it. A residual distrust and irritation for political pandering has remained as a result, clinging to him long after those years have gone. His favorite teachers in school were those that were practical and to the point. He enjoyed McGonagall's classes but often felt that Snape veered too far offcourse in attacking other students in the class, although he didn't care enough to say so. This was compounded by a natural inability at Potions that came close to Longbottom's. His natural talents were those of a historian but Graham still wanted to fly. So, when it became apparent that the war was ending, in a mixture of childhood dream and misguided patriotism, Pritchard signed up to join the Wizarding Air Force, something that angered his parents but that they couldn't stop him from doing. He was underage but at that point in the war, the military was taking any wizards who would sign up. He joined the WAF in 1999 and spent about two months in training. At this point in the war, there were very few Aurors and Beauxbatons had been raized by the Death Eaters. As a result, training was quick and often brutal. Few citizens wanted to join the flying corps- due to the vulnerability of a moving force and the inability to cast consistent wards, casualties were high. However, it was where Graham wanted to be and the happiest day of his life was the first day that the 3rd LFC went into the air. His hopes were crushed, however, when the war ended before he could really become a part of it. Wanting to see battle, he kept on with the LFC when they were assigned to assist with wizarding civil conflicts in Sierra Leone, an area that was trying to take advantage of the instability in England to break free of wizarding economic interests. The Ministry had great interest in maintaining connections to Sierra Leone, both for its diamond trade and for the high number of magical substances being exported from the region. The unit wasn't supposed to see combat initially but act as a scouting unit for the ground forces. This abruptly changed about a month after Graham was sent into the field when the 3rd was ambushed. They managed to fight off most of their opponents and their effectiveness was noted by the Ministry. After that point, the unit became a part of the offensive against the rebels, a wizarding group known as the Revolutionary Wizarding Front (Revers). Six months passed and he became a hardened veteran of the war, watching as most of his unit fell due to the high cost borne by the flyers. In 2001, however, the Revers unleashed a new aspect that the 3rd LFC couldn't deal with - Impundulu. The first battle resulted in the death or capture of most of the unit, Graham among them. He was taken to an internment camp for prisoners of war. It was four months before Graham was freed and that was mainly through the money and influence held by his parents. Not long after they had expended that effort, the conflict in Sierra Leone came to its end. The conflict, in the wake of the Second War, was not viewed as traumatic for its participants as it actually was in reality. The war with Voldemort had the advantage of being spoken of, monitored by the public eye - few wizards even realize there was a serious conflict in the Sierra Leone and that wizarding lives were lost. As a consequence of that lack of coverage, the wizards who were taken were often subjected to treatment that was extremely brutal. Likewise, no retribution was ever had by Graham or any of the others in the POW camps - no criminals were put to trial. The war simply ended when Sierra Leone pledged to uphold the trade restrictions placed on them by the British Ministry. Graham's service and internment earned him several medals as well as political influence. Despite leaving the WAF at the war's end, Graham wasn't able to adjust to peacetime life and made the decision to return to the Ministry. His work in the war eventually led to an offer to join the Unspeakables. Unable to resist the allure of spending his life chasing mysteries, Graham accepted the offer although he deliberately blurs the lines on what he does when discussing his work with his family. The Pritchards know that Graham is not a flier any longer but they aren't certain what he actually does. They disagree with his choice to remain with the Ministry and still hope that he will leave it and do something "a little less grim", as his mother puts it. Military Honors Received: * Artemisia Cross : for valour "in the face of the enemy". * Distinguished Flying Cross : for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against the enemy" * Distinguished Service Order : for "service and leadership under fire" Meta Journal: alight PB: Damon Albarn Player: Gwen Category: Characters Category: Unspeakables